Dove

Dove in brief

• Rank: #1 of 100 in UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #1 of 14 in Consumer & FMCG.
• WCRC Power Score: 80.42 out of 100.
• Founded: 1957, by Lever Brothers (Unilever).
• Owner: Unilever PLC, London, England.
• Leadership: Fernando Fernandez, CEO of Unilever PLC.
• Latest revenue: €50.5bn revenue (FY2025, year to Dec 2025, -3.8%), group revenue of Unilever PLC, as per company filings.

What makes Dove powerful

Dove sits at the centre of Unilever's plan to become a sharper beauty and personal care company. In 2025 Unilever's Power Brands grew underlying sales by 4.3%, and Dove was named as a driver in both of the group's beauty-facing divisions. In Beauty & Wellbeing, Dove grew double digits in hair care, with growth split between volume and price. In Personal Care it grew high single digits, led by premium launches, with double-digit growth in deodorants and mid-single-digit growth in skin cleansing.

The brand's power comes from that breadth. Few personal care names are bought across so many categories and price points, which gives Unilever room to push premium formats without losing everyday shoppers. Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care together made up about half of Unilever's turnover in 2025, so Dove's performance now shapes the whole group's story.

In 2025 Dove grew double digits in both hair care and deodorants, according to Unilever.

Why Dove ranks #1

Dove sits at number one with a WCRC Power Score of 80.42, the score it holds in WCRC's published World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, and it keeps that score here rather than being rescored on the UK pillars. It ranks just ahead of Formula 1, which also carries its global score. Its place reflects reach across many personal care categories and its role as a named growth driver for Unilever in 2025.

The Achilles' heel

Dove's growth relies on premium innovation and price, while Personal Care growth in 2025 was led by price and volume rose only 1.1%. If shoppers trade down, or rivals copy its premium formats, Dove could lose momentum just as Unilever leans on it more heavily after reshaping the group. Currency and disposals also cut Unilever's reported turnover by 3.8% in 2025.

The 2026 story

Unilever's 2025 full year results, published in February 2026, showed underlying sales growth of 3.5% on turnover of 50.5 billion euros, with Dove a named growth driver across hair care, deodorants and skin cleansing. The group, led by chief executive Fernando Fernandez, completed the demerger of its ice cream business in December 2025 and guided to 2026 underlying sales growth at the bottom end of its 4% to 6% range, with at least 2% volume growth, putting brands like Dove at the front of its plan.

Pillar profile

Dove's full 50-parameter profile is published on its World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 page.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Consumer & FMCG brands
• Top 10 Best British Brands
• UK's 50 Most Valuable Brands
• Biggest British Brands by Revenue
• British Global Powerhouses
• Most powerful brands in England

Key facts

Sources

• Revenue figure published by Unilever PLC
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data